Anniversary below the fold

95 years ago, a bunch of ignorant hoi polloi went out into the fields of a small rural town to see a predicted miracle, and the big city MSM was there to laugh at them and to record how the fools would respond when they found nothing happened.

Whoops:

more on the story of how that solar phenomenum and the "predictions" related to the event changed world history at my rantblog.

Hint: "how many battalions does the Pope have?"

 headsup TeaAtTrianon.


The story of Fatima and the fall of communism is well known among Catholics, but here in the Philippines, the statue of the Virgin of Fatima was carried in front of the People Power demonstrations.

Library of congress article via Mongabay

On February 22, Enrile and General Fidel Ramos, commander of the Philippine Constabulary, issued a joint statement demanding Marcos's resignation. They established their rebel headquarters inside Camp Aguinaldo and the adjoining Camp Crame in Metro Manila, which was guarded by several hundred troops. Marcos ordered loyal units to suppress the uprising, but Cardinal Sin, broadcasting over the Catholic-run Radio Veritas (which became the voice of the revolution), appealed to the people to bring food and supplies for the rebels and to use nonviolence to block pro-Marcos troop movements.
Hundreds of thousands responded. In the tense days that followed, priests, nuns, ordinary citizens, and children linked arms with the rebels and faced down, without violence, the tanks and machine guns of government troops. Many of the government troops defected, including the crews of seven helicopter gunships, which seemed poised to attack the massive crowd on February 24 but landed in Camp Crame to announce their support for People's Power. Violent confrontations were prevented. The Philippine troops did not want to wage war on their own people. 

There is an urban legend that the reason the soldiers didn't shoot was because a "beautiful woman" went over to them and told them "don't shoot my people".

The virgin or a nice looking nun? Well, Cardinal Jaime Sin used to quip that he didn't know if it was a miracle, but that he did know all the nuns with him and none of them were good looking...